cat and mouse
by tatty ted
Summary: COLD BLOOD I / Eve unknowingly lets Brian control her mind. Leaning on Jake for support has surprising consequences for their relationship. - —Eve/Jake, set after episode one.


_prompts_ —  
"please don't leave me", messages.

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**cat and mouse**  
_here comes the summer, the summer._

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Brian Wicklow, just a name with no meaning until she read his file, with his crimes and realised what she'd gotten herself involved in.

She was just his type, blonde haired, petit, five foot eight, one hundred and twenty-eight pounds or so. They dismissed her claim that _she_ was his type, simply answering that they didn't know what his type was. She knew it was bollocks, she'd seen his file, every victim all eight of them were blonde.

And bang — so was she.

Brian is a man of great intelligence. A perfectionist, a man who's soul probably troubles him. A charming man who have the influence to charm everyone he meets, and make them like him even if he is a cold blooded murderer killing people for kicks.

He's fussy. He doesn't like dirty shirts or chipped nail varnish or earrings that don't match.

Everything has to have an order, if it doesn't, he agitates him.

For Eve to be confronted by such evil who tries to pretend that he isn't _that_ bad, troubles her. It troubles her every meeting that she has to go to, every time she sits across from him with his pervy smile and creepy eyes knowing that she's been used by a killer for some sort of game.

Everything about him troubles her. It troubles her to the point she's unable to sleep, the face of a monster haunting her dreams. Her once sleep filled nights are filled with images of victims lying dead, their flesh dumped on mortuary slabs like meat in a butchers.

She knows he won't give up the location of his victim's body until he has something to replace it with. He's never going to get that chance though, he's never going to be able to fulfil the need to kill; the need to replace one memory with another.

She spends the entire evening surviving on coffee, pacing the living room and biting her nails until there completely gone, wondering if she'd have to spend much longer in a room with a psychotic individual who sends shivers down her spine every time he smiles in her direction.

She'd stumbled upon Jake Osborne's number at three, found herself wondering if she should call him or not.

He'd been her childhood sweetheart at fourteen, had the biggest crush on him that if she was honest, never really went away and was hidden away when he went inside for murder. The thought had crossed her mind, what if she'd been killed in the heat of the moment.

She gives herself a hundred reasons not to call but one reason too. She accepts it in the end, dials in his number and presses her phone to her ear hoping to get an answer. She breaths a sigh of relief when he answers but her palms get sweaty and she suddenly comes across all shy.

_"Hello?"_

"Hi," she whispers and realises it's probably best to introduce herself, "it's Eve, I couldn't sleep."

There's a pause and Eve decides to fill it, "I didn't wake you did I?"

_"No I wasn't asleep." _

She doesn't know whether to believe him or not. Who in the right mind would be awake at three o'clock in the morning, not doing much other than herself of course. There's another silence and she opens her mouth to speak but he gets in there first;

_"He's got inside your mind hasn't he?"_

"A little," she shows vulnerability for a second before it disappears. Even he's shocked because Eve doesn't, never has shown her emotion even in her younger years. It's what made her stand out from the crowd. He sighed gently knowing it was an awful idea for Eve to be involved in Brian's games.

He could get inside your mind and control you, it was slowly beginning to work on Eve.

_"Would you like me to come round?"_

He's surprised at his own questioning, never would he have thought about asking to go round. She swallows hard but doesn't answer.

Does she want him to come round or will that just complicate a complicated relationship further?

She finally agrees that a night on her own is something she doesn't want, "You don't mind?"

_"No._" They say goodbye, put down the phone and Eve waits for him to come round. She sits with her feet underneath her on the sofa, staring at the blank wall wondering how she allowed a dangerous mind to enter her mind without her really knowing she was being controlled.

A small rapping noise on the door startled Eve and for a moment she froze, all thoughts of scenario's running through her mind until she realised it was most likely Jake. Still, as a precaution she looked though the keyhole before taking the chain off the door.

Slowly opening the door towards her, she made eye contact with Jake and smiled. There wasn't a word communicated between the two as Jake found himself invited into her home and found his way to her living room.

As he entered his eyes scanned the room. He could tell somebody like Eve would have an organised house, organisation was slightly important when you were a mother. He caught sight of the two picture frames either side of each other on the fireplace, two young boys and smiled.

"Can I get you a drink?" Her voice broke through his thoughts and he brought himself back to reality, "No, thank you."

"Okay," she disappeared only returning a few seconds later carrying a bottle of wine and two glasses despite him declining the offer of a drink.

"I wasn't going to call you," she admitted as she sat down and poured herself a drink; "I told myself I was probably being irrational."

"Why?"

"Well," she paused to take a sip of her drink, "He's inside my head and that's through my own fault but-"

"Go on," he prompted and she sighed. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she answered; "Basically what I'm trying to say is, well, nobody other than me can get him out right?"

There's a silence and for a second she considers herself silly. Here she is, emotional vulnerable exposing herself to a man who she shouldn't have fallen for but did. Realising how childish she sounded, Eve whispered; "Forget it."

"No," his voice was soft, full of concern for her and Eve felt guilty. What was she thinking bringing him here at this time of the morning? They spend the entire morning just talking about Brian, his crimes and why it seems to effort her more than anything. Maybe it was because she was blonde, exactly like his previous victims and his last victim involved a child, and she was a single mother of two.

She brought her knees up to her chest and for a moment she was silent. He touched her arm gently breaking her from her trance, "What are you thinking?"

She swallowed hard and placed the wine glass on the table. She looked at him in the eye and decided that she'd already opened herself up slightly, so why was she holding back?

He gently stroke his fingers along her arm, "Eve?"

She swallowed again; "You want to know why I brought you over? I'm scared, I'm more scared than I'd like to admit. I feel him, here and here." She touched her temple and her heart, "He's in there and I can't get him out. I hate every meeting I have with him, every time I hear those details about how he murdered his victims. Emma, Emma's significant and it troubles me more because of the fact she was only a child. She didn't deserve to be killed." She could feel the tears beginning to pool in her eyes and she shook her head, repeating in her mind that she was not going to cry. She wasn't, she wasn't, she wasn't.

She couldn't stop herself and she burst into tears. She tried to move so he wouldn't see her but when he pulled her into a hug, she felt safe and let it all out. As gentle sobs decked through her body, he held her close and kissed the top of her head. He lost count of how long they were there, not speaking, just holding each other as one was honest with herself for the first time since she met Brian.

"Would you like me to go?"

She gripped his arm, "No please don't leave me." He nods, kisses her head once again and stays exactly where he is. Neither of them move for the rest of the morning even when Eve falls asleep in his lap. He just circles her back with his fingers wondering if she's finally at peace with herself at last.

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jottings / so I realised i've got cold blood I & II on record, watched it and this is what I came up with! if you like it enough to favourite/alert, please leave a review!:3


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